|
Protecting Plants
Of the first the most useful is the
covered frame. It consists usually
of a wooden box, some eighteen
inches to two feet square and about
eight high, covered with glass,
protecting cloth, mosquito netting
or mosquito wire. The first two
coverings have, of course, the
additional advantage of retaining
heat and protecting from cold,
making it possible by their use to
plant earlier than is otherwise
safe. They are used extensively in
getting an extra early and safe
start with cucumbers, melons and the
other vine
vegetables.
Simpler devices
for protecting newly-set plants,
such as tomatoes or cabbage, from
the cut-worm, are stiff, tin,
cardboard or tar paper collars,
which are made several inches high
and large enough to be put around
the stem and penetrate an inch or so
into the soil.
For applying
poison powders, the home gardener
should supply himself with a powder
gun. If one must be restricted to a
single implement, however, it will
be best to get one of the
hand-power, compressed-air sprayers.
These are used for applying wet
sprays, and should be supplied with
one of the several forms of
mist-making nozzles, the non-cloggable
automatic type being the best. For
more extensive work a barrel pump,
mounted on wheels, will be
desirable, but one of the above will
do a great deal of work in little
time. Extension rods for use in
spraying trees and vines may be
obtained for either. For operations
on a very small scale a good
hand-syringe may be used, but as a
general thing it will be best to
invest a few dollars more and get a
small tank sprayer, as this throws a
continuous stream or spray and holds
a much larger amount of the spraying
solution. Whatever type is procured,
get a brass machine it will out-wear
three or four of those made of
cheaper metal, which succumbs very
quickly to the, corroding action of
the strong poisons and chemicals
used in them.
Gardening Tools
Of implements
for harvesting, beside the spade,
prong-hoe and spading- fork, very
few are used in the small garden, as
most of them need not only long rows
to be economically used, but horse-
power also. The onion harvester
attachment for the double wheel hoe,
may be used with advantage in
loosening onions, beets, turnips,
etc., from the soil or for cutting
spinach. Running the hand- plow
close on either side of carrots,
parsnips and other deep-growing
vegetables will aid materially in
getting them out. For fruit picking,
with tall trees, the wire-fingered
fruit-picker, secured to the end of
a long handle, will be of great
assistance, but with the modern
method of using low-headed trees it
will not be needed.
Another class
of garden implements are those used
in pruning but where this is
attended to properly from the start,
a good sharp jack-knife and a pair
of pruning shears will easily handle
all the work of the kind necessary.
Still another
sort of garden device is that used
for supporting the plants; such as
stakes, trellises, wires, etc.
Altogether too little attention
usually is given these, as with
proper care in storing over winter
they will not only last for years,
but add greatly to the convenience
of cultivation and to the neat
appearance of the garden.
As a final word
to the intending purchaser of gardening
tools, I would say: first thoroughly
investigate the different sorts
available, and when buying, do not
forget that a good tool or a
well-made machine will be giving you
satisfactory use long, long after
the price is forgotten, while a poor
one is a constant source of
discomfort. Get good tools, and
take good care of them. And let me
repeat that a few dollars a year,
judiciously spent, for tools
afterward well cared for, will soon
give you a very complete set, and
add to your garden profit and
pleasure.
Gardening Tools |
Vegetable Garden | Growing Vegetables
|
|
|
